Nicely done Mark! I really like the snack sled. Do mine next!

 

Great build. Beautiful dog too! Are you thinking about adding a cooking or sink area to the pullouts? How is ventilation while sleeping?

 

Thanks!

We carry a Coleman stove and collapsible sinks in the pullout drawers, but I didn't build them in. Our favorite sites usually have a picnic table so we take them there to cook and wash. (typical setup in photo below)

I made magnetically attached screens for the sliding door windows, and with those windows open there's been sufficient cross ventilation for sleeping. But if we want to nap in the middle of a warm day, we have rechargeable USB fans that hang from the clothes hooks. We have the openable sunroof, so could rig up an exhaust fan but haven't needed that.

 

This looks great, can you run the climate controls off of the battery or do you have to run the gas engine?

 

This looks great, can you run the climate controls off of the battery or do you have to run the gas engine?

Got it. You might have seen another pachy owner posted his “hack” to keep the van’s climate control working while they are car camping in the back - fixes the issue with the van shutting down after a while and turning off the climate (heat and A/C).

There are some threads here on this tempting possibility. You can run the climate system with the van in Park, but the electrical system will shut off automatically after a half hour. Some have demonstrated a "hack" to turn the Pacifica back on periodically -- it can be done by electrically tapping into the start/stop switch wires, or mechanically with a robot button pusher.

But even with the hack to keep the van electrical system on, the climate system consumes over a kilowatt. Since there's no way to preserve your traction battery charge when driving, you either need to plug into an RV electrical outlet, or accept that the gas engine will start up periodically.

We experimented with this mode and found it "not peaceful" for us. Our personal camping goal is to take a break from the mechanized world and its complexities. An open window and a fan does the job for us.

 

There are some threads here on this tempting possibility. You can run the climate system with the van in Park, but the electrical system will shut off automatically after a half hour. Some have demonstrated a "hack" to turn the Pacifica back on periodically -- it can be done by electrically tapping into the start/stop switch wires, or mechanically with a robot button pusher.

But even with the hack to keep the van electrical system on, the climate system consumes over a kilowatt. Since there's no way to preserve your traction battery charge when driving, you either need to plug into an RV electrical outlet, or accept that the gas engine will start up periodically.

We experimented with this mode and found it "not peaceful" for us. Our personal camping goal is to take a break from the mechanized world and its complexities. An open window and a fan does the job for us.

Thank you for this clarification! A half hour is better than nothing. The scenario I'm thinking of is when running short errands near the house and being able to leave the AC running on battery if my dog is with me.

 

This is awesome, well done!

 

This is amazing!

 

Just finished up our 8th trip, to Mt Hood. Here are two more photos that show some detail.

The sliding door window screen is made from ordinary flexible fiberglass screen mesh. A 36" x 84" roll ($10 at HD) is enough for both side windows. The edges are bound with duct tape, and 1/2" rare earth magnet disks are embedded about every 6" in the folded tape. NOTE: the door panel itself (aluminum?) isn't attracted by the magnets, but the chrome strips above and below the window are strongly attracted. Size carefully so the magnets lay on those strips.

To hang those battery-operated fans, I cut a 38" long strip of 1/4" thick, 1/2" wide wood. With the rear sunroof shade retracted, that strip neatly bridges between the shade tracks, avoiding any tension on the headliner. You can also see that we fitted custom pouches for personal items onto plastic coat hangers; these just hang from the van's coat hooks.

To keep clothing organized, we use individual backpacks. By adjusting the backpack straps, we found they can hang on the headrests of the front seats. This keeps clutter off the floor, which keeps Penny happy, and when she's happy, we're happy!

I've also rigged up a better electrical setup for the Jackery 300Wh power pack. When the van's running it charges up, and when the van's off, the input automatically switches to a jack under the front seat where I can plug in a cable from a solar panel. No pix of this but if there's interest I can provide details and a schematic.

If you want more gory details of how the camper was designed and built, there's a detailed video here.

 

Penny looks really content. Thank you for sharing!